MelindaJ Barbieri maintains "nothing changes" for the Newcastle Jets after the departure of coach Gary van Egmond on Monday.
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Barbieri was part of van Egmond's roster overhaul as the Jets targeted a return to finals in A-League Women following a six-year absence.
"It's a big loss that Gary did leave," Barbieri said.
"But I feel like with our club and the philosophy that we have here, it is not only about making and encouraging our players to pursue something that is maybe a better opportunity to grow, but also our staff and our coaches as well. And that's exactly what Gary did.
"So, he hasn't left us out to dry. He's put us in capable hands of Ryan, and for us nothing changes. We've still got the goal to pretty much win and to look forward to Sydney this weekend."
Newcastle are on track for one of their most successful seasons and a win against champions Sydney FC at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday evening would prove a huge boost to their top-six ambitions.
The Jets slipped to seventh position by goal difference after Central Coast beat Sydney 2-1 in Sydney on Wednesday night, but they remain in a three-way tussle for fifth place with Western United and Western Sydney on 17 points.
The Mariners improved to 18 points and fourth place with the win, secured with just 10 players after goalkeeper Sarah Langman was sent off in the 78th minute for a second yellow card offence, while the Sky Blues are third on 19 heading into round 13 this weekend.
The Jets are unbeaten in their past three starts and defeated Brisbane 2-1 at Leichhardt Oval last Saturday night.
"We look at the ladder and it's so close," Barbieri, who has made 11 appearances for the Jets this campaign and started in their past four outings, said.
"One win can put us in the top four or one loss can put us down the bottom. So, for us, it's important to take one game at a time.
"I think it's great that we're starting to get on a roll with winning because something that Gary has said, and Ryan as well, is winning becomes a habit, and once that's embedded in us we're just going to keep going."
Only twice before have the Jets reached 17 points in a season. On one occasion, when they last made finals in 207-18, they amassed 20 points.
There have been some lean campaigns since.
"Something that's probably different about Newcastle than in the last couple of years is we're pretty much a new team," Barbieri said.
"Gary hand-picked us all. He knew what he wanted to do this season, as well as Ryan, and he sat us all down and said: 'This is the goal. This is what we want to do. You're either on the same page or you're not.' We all agreed that we're on the same page.
"Sydney are going to be a really strong team. They're a team that you don't want to give them any leeway to let them score goals or unpredict them at all, so it's important that we go in there and play the way we've been playing, which is full pressure and wanting to score goals."
